SMRT Corporation
SMRT Corporation ( ) is a public transport operator incorporated on March 6, 2000, as a result of an industry overhaul to form multi-modal public-transport operators in Singapore. It is the second-largest public-transport company in Singapore after ComfortDelGro. As a holding company listed on the Singapore Exchange since July 26, 2000, it operates bus, rail, taxi and other public-transport services via several wholly owned subsidiaries. In addition, the Group leases commercial and advertising spaces within the transport network it operates and engages in operations and maintenance services, project management and engineering consultancy in Singapore and overseas. History The history of the SMRT Corporation dates back to the establishment of Mass Rapid Transit Corporation in August 1987. On 1 September 1995, Mass Rapid Transit Corporation, as well as the Roads and Transportation Division of the Public Works Department, and Land Transport Division of the Ministry of Communications, was absorbed into Land Transport Authority. The operations of the MRTC were later regrouped into SMRT Limited, as a private state-owned company. In 1998, ownership of the rail assets were transferred from the government to the SMRT Limited. The process was executed under the Licence and Operating Agreement (LOA) which stated that the maintenance obligation covers the infrastructures and assets of the rail system. SMRT Limited successfully completed the floatation process with the company listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange in 2000. 2000 SMRT is listed on July 26, 2000 at 61 cents. The IPO is oversubscribed by five times and “performed reasonably well in a nervous market”. 2001 SMRT announces a merger with Timothy, which is completed in December 2001. It also clinches a contract to run Circle Line, which will expand its network by 38% when operations start in 2006. The Circle Line would eventually start running only in 2009 because of the Nicoll Highway accident. At the same time, SMRT merged with TIBS Holdings, and rail operation/assets were moved to SMRT Trains Limited. This included, the SMRT Light Rail, which was formed in 1999 to operate the Bukit Panjang LRT. 2002 The branch line to Changi Airport starts running. The Bukit Panjang LRT system experiences a series of breakdowns. Initiatives are introduced to increase revenue from advertising by adding more space within stations and trains in 2002. 2003 Bukit Panjang LRT continues to be a problem, with three disruptions, including a six-day-long breakdown, in late October 2003. 2004 SMRT reports first full year of financials with Saw at the helm. Revenue is down 2.7% y-o-y to $667.3 million, but earnings rise 24.2% y-o-y to $89.5 million, led by non-fare revenue. More plans are put in place to grow this segment of the pie, such as the refurbishment of the Raffles Place MRT Station and 11 other stations from 2005. On 10 May 2004, all of the subsidiaries under the SMRT Corporation adopted the logo and brand officially. 2005 Non-fare revenue helps to drive earnings growth of 41.8% y-o-y to $126.9 million, on the back of just 0.9% growth in revenue to $673.5 million. Dividends are raised. SMRT benchmarks itself against global metro operators; leads in punctuality, costs and manpower efficiencies in 2005. 2006 In 2006, shop space inventory rises to 23,800 sq m, with occupancy rates up from 95% as at March 31, 2005 to 98% as at March 31, 2006. Dhoby Ghaut station undergoes extensive refurbishment to create more leasable space. 2007 In 2007, a partnership agreement is inked with Citibank, giving the bank space at stations to open branches. A co-branded credit card that doubles up as a fare card is launched, which is the only conceptual OneMetroCard. Upgrading commences for 66 of the first-generation trains, which promises savings in repair and maintenance costs. 2008 & 2009 Ridership began to grow at the faster pace: up 7.9% to 469.3 million from 2007. Earnings rise just 0.1% y-o-y to $162.9 million as fares are cut to help the public cope with the economic downturn caused by the economic and education crisis by 2010. Revenue rises by just 1.8% y-o-y in spite of 5.2% increase of ridership to 536.6 million. The ruling party suffers an unprecedented backlash in the previous general election. Then SMRT's earnings and YourStudent's earnings increases due to high staff and revenue costs. Subsidiaries * SMRT Trains Ltd ** SMRT Light Rail Pte Ltd * SMRT Road Holdings Ltd ** SMRT Buses Ltd ** SMRT Taxis Pte Ltd ** SMRT Automotive Services Pte Ltd ** Bus-Plus Services Pte Ltd ** Strides Transportation Pte Ltd ** Hailo Singapore Pte Ltd * SMRT Engineering ** SMRT Engineering FZE * SMRT International Pte Ltd * SMRT Investments Pte Ltd ** SMRT Alpha Pte Ltd * Singapore Rail Engineering Pte Ltd ** Railise Pte Ltd * SMRT Far East Ltd ** SMRT Cayman I ** SMRT Cayman II ** SMRT Hong Kong Limited * SMRT Capital Ltd * SMRT Institute Pte Ltd * SMRT Properties * SMRT Media Operations SMRT's primary business is providing public-transport services in Singapore. Its main operations are the following: * SMRT Buses – operates a fleet up to 1190 buses, serving majority in housing estates in northern and north-western Singapore. * SMRT Trains – operates the operational 86 stations along the North South Line, East West Line and Circle Line of the MRT network. * SMRT Light Rail – operates and manages the 14 stations along the Bukit Panjang LRT line. * SMRT Taxis – manages 8 different vehicle models of standard and limousine taxis. Category:SMRT Corporation Category:Transport operators of Singapore Category:Temasek Holdings Category:Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore) Category:Light Rail Transit (Singapore) Category:Companies established in 2000 Category:Government-owned companies of Singapore Category:Companies listed on the Singapore Exchange